Sustained Quantum Coherence and Entanglement in the Avian Compass

被引：227

作者：

Gauger, Erik M. ^{[1
]}

Rieper, Elisabeth ^{[2
]}

Morton, John J. L. ^{[1
,3
]}

Benjamin, Simon C. ^{[1
,2
]}

Vedral, Vlatko ^{[2
,3
,4
]}

机构：

[1] Univ Oxford, Dept Mat, Oxford OX1 3PH, England

[2] Natl Univ Singapore, Ctr Quantum Technol, Singapore 117548, Singapore

[3] Univ Oxford, Clarendon Lab, Oxford OX1 3PU, England

[4] Natl Univ Singapore, Dept Phys, Singapore 117548, Singapore

来源：

PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS | 2011年 / 106卷 / 04期

基金：

新加坡国家研究基金会; 英国工程与自然科学研究理事会;

关键词：

LIGHT-DEPENDENT MAGNETOSENSITIVITY; RADICAL-PAIR MECHANISM; MAGNETIC COMPASS; CHEMICAL MAGNETORECEPTION; CRYPTOCHROME; BIRDS; MODEL; ORIENTATION; SYSTEMS;

D O I：

10.1103/PhysRevLett.106.040503

中图分类号：

O4 [物理学];

学科分类号：

0702 ;

摘要：

In artificial systems, quantum superposition and entanglement typically decay rapidly unless cryogenic temperatures are used. Could life have evolved to exploit such delicate phenomena? Certain migratory birds have the ability to sense very subtle variations in Earth's magnetic field. Here we apply quantum information theory and the widely accepted "radical pair'' model to analyze recent experimental observations of the avian compass. We find that superposition and entanglement are sustained in this living system for at least tens of microseconds, exceeding the durations achieved in the best comparable man-made molecular systems. This conclusion is starkly at variance with the view that life is too "warm and wet'' for such quantum phenomena to endure.

引用

页数：4

共 30 条

[1] Magnetic intensity affects cryptochrome-dependent responses in Arabidopsis thaliana [J].